Science

The Long, Strange Trip to Pluto, and How NASA Nearly Missed It

Kenneth Chang

With the recent news surrounding the flyby of Pluto by
NASA’s New Horizons project, the fascination surrounding this project has
gained international renown for its stunning discoveries and near flawless
execution. What is perhaps less well-known is how the greatest odds this
mission overcame arose before New Horizons ever left the earth’s atmosphere.

In this article, Kenneth Chang shares the journey behind the
people who overcame numerous setbacks to see the New Horizons project through
to its impressive completion. As we continue to await additional photos of Pluto and
its surrounding moons in the coming months, it’s worth remembering the fortitude and determination required by so many people to get us to this point in the
first place and how we too can be inspired to similar feats of perseverance in our own lives.

Of the various obstacles
that the scientists faced, which do you find most daunting?

Why do you
think we, as humans, are so fascinated with discovery of the unknown?